Jose P.

Laurel’s Political
Thought
Fear of solitude and human gregariousness
impel humans to establish a political society.
• “A person “kept in solitary confinement,” Laurel (1949, 30) argued,
“and denied contact with the outside world degenerates, becomes
clumsy in the use of rational faculties, and eventually loses them.””
Essence of the Government
• “The surrender of individual power to the legal and moral power of
the whole as represented by the state is the essence of all
governments. “Man as a social and political being,” Laurel (1943, 10)
explained, “has to live under some government organized and
maintained by the collective will of himself and his fellow citizens.”
• “…in a democracy…sovereignty emanates from the people…
• “In a democracy, the individual sacrifices his freedom so that he may
attain greater freedom for the whole” (Laurel in Gripaldo).
Political Paradox: “while man cannot get along without his fellowmen,
he cannot, in actual life, get along well with them” (Laurel in Gripaldo)

• “In association there is antagonism: people differ in temperaments,

ideals, and ideas; they differ in thought and in action; and conflict of
interests arises among themselves.
• “The necessity for certain rules of ethical behavior is therefore
imperative and unavoidable in the relationship between man and
man. These rules may be self-imposed by the individual and where
they are dictated by some external authority, they take the form of
laws, customs, and traditions.” (Gripaldo)
Law and Order-- Foundation of
Governmental Structures
• “If law should be taken away or abolished, all things will fall into
confusion.” (Laurel in Gripaldo)
• Law and order is the gauged of government efficiency
• Law determines what is good and what is evil; what is just and what is unjust.
• Law and order protects people from injustices
• Law sets the boundary between the government power and the people’s
liberty.
• “If the prerogative of the government prevails over the liberty of the people, then
tyranny reigns, and if the liberty of the people prevails over the government ’s
prerogative, then anarchy reigns.” (Gripaldo)
• Equilibrium must be achieved through education and discipline.
The Political Pyramid of Republicanism
“. . . the basic foundation is the people; the first story is the constitution which is the
expression of their sovereignty; the second is the officialdom or a group of constitutional
care-takers of the edifice; and in the third and highest story is found the altar wherein is
zealously kept and guarded the mystic fire which symbolizes the faith of the people.
“Collapse of the foundation means destruction of the entire building; collapse of the first
story is necessarily the collapse of the second and third stories and the consequent
reversion to the architectonic wisdom of the people; collapse of the second story—
officialdom—because of misdeeds or disloyalty, is the demolition of the faith of the
people; and without faith, no popular government can ever hope to live and survive.”
(Laurel in Gripaldo)

“Representation, renovation, and control constitute the essence of republicanism.”

(Gripaldo)
Separation of Church and State
• “union of church and state is prejudicial to both, for occasions might
arise when the state will use the church, and the church the state, as
a weapon in the furtherance of their respective ends and aims.”
(Laurel in Gripaldo)
Primacy of the Individual over the State
• “The state exists for the individual and not the individual for the state;
• “the paramount concern of the state is the protection of the integrity
and dignity of man.
• ““Public officials…should not dwell in an ivory tower, aloof and
unconcerned about the sufferings and injustices around them.”
• “Public welfare, social justice, or the promotion of the common good
is the sole purpose of government” (Gripaldo)
Functions of the Government
• “The true yardstick by which the goodness and efficiency of a
government or an administration are measured is its actual
accomplishment in terms of the people’s livelihood (health),
enjoyment of material and moral rewards for their efforts (justice),
development of their potentialities (education), and realization of
their aspirations to success and happiness under an atmosphere of
order and security (opportunity).” (Laurel in Gripaldo)
State Socialism
• Laurel: “I am for State Socialism, if by [it] is meant the adoption by the
State of measures intended to establish social and economic
equilibrium so that social and political upheavals may be avoided and
carnage and revolution prevented.” (in Gripaldo)
Morality—the Foundation of Good
Government
• For Laurel, according to Gripaldo, “It is not enough that a citizen does not violate the
rules, regulations, and ordinances of government; he must also see to it that these are
observed by the community.”
• Laurel (in Griplado) writes: “Passive inaction or intolerance is worse than actual and
flagrant infringement of the law of the land, for in the latter case the law itself provides a
remedy and administers a corrective to the erring individual. But the law is power less to
deal with that type of citizen who is so wanting in civic courage that he allows crime to
be committed in his presence without even lift ing a finger to prevent its execution, who
is so lacking in civic pride that he tolerates the evils of vice and graft in the community,
without doing anything to put a stop to them, who has such a distorted sense of civic
values that so long as his selfish pursuits are unmolested he does not give a thought to
whatever happens to his neighbors or to the rest of his fellow citizens for that matter;
and who does not care whether or not there is such a thing as “government” at all.”
Local Government
• “The main prop of a democratic state is sound municipal
administration.” (Gripaldo)
• Laurel: “…we need more of individualism, self-reliance, and self-
dependence” rather than paternalism (Gripaldo)
• Laurel advocated local autonomy because “The less supervision there
is, the less will be the occasion for antagonism and friction between
the State and the local government.” (in Gripaldo)
• But Laurel warned that: “a national government, strong and vigorous,
without municipal autonomy, is preferable to a national government,
anemic and weak, with municipal self-government.” (in Gripaldo)
The Need for A City Manager
• “an elective council “appoints a manager who holds office at the
pleasure of the council, appoints the heads of the different
departments of the city, supervises the works of these departments,
and stands responsible to the council for the successful management
of the city’s business.” (Laurel in Gripaldo)
On Revolution
• “The Declaration of Independence of Philadelphia,” Laurel (1936, 2; see 1931,
144,148) contended, “and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the
Citizen are glorious monuments to the people’s superior right of
revolution . . .” (in Gripaldo)
• But in recent times, while the people have the power in the sense that
sovereignty resides in them, “they have not the right to abolish all government
or to create anarchy; they have neither the power nor the right to resume or
directly administer and execute all the powers of government.” (in Gripaldo)
• In the event that the people, said Laurel, “have the right to change their
government, surely there is no reason why they cannot exercise this right in a
peaceful and legal way” (in Gripaldo)
Nation Building
• The great and immediate work of Filipinos is to build a nation (Laurel 1943, 15).
Among the nation-molding forces, including geographical unity, ethnical unity,
national language, religion, community of national interest, and common
tradition, the last one is indispensable. (Gripaldo)
• “History teaches that the rise and fall of nations depend essentially upon the
underlying moral strength of their citizens. Racial pride must be cultivated.
• “For a nation to grow strong and progressive, it must nurture within itself moral
and spiritual forces that include citizen obligations; patriot ism; filial piety;
veneration of heroes; obedience to law and authority; honor ; modesty, frugality,
and cleanliness; self-reliance and perseverance; hard work; truth; honesty; just
ice and charity; individual and social discipline; and neighborliness and social
responsibility.” (Laurel in Gripaldo)
Nationalism Precedes Internationalism
• Laurel (1931, 39-40) believed that nationalism, which means “loyalty to the
history, institutions, and tradition of our country and cherishing everything
that is genuinely and honorably Filipino,” must precede internationalism. As a
matter of fact, “internationalism is not possible until nationalism had
established itself.” (in Gripaldo)
• “[It is not ] that we should reject everything that is not Filipino, but . . . that
we should discard that false concept that everything foreign must be good
and, therefore, should be imitated. We must use discr imination and
prudence in adopting foreign models. If we have to follow foreign patterns, let
us blend them with our own customs, tradit ions, and ideals, but first
purifying them of whatever grossness or imperfection they may have.” (Laurel
in Gripaldo)
Imperatives of Foreign Policy

• “(1) the people must be true and loyal to their history, their nationalism, and
their homeland;
• “(2) they must be ready to defend their independence;
• “(3) colonial structures and scaffoldings in the national economy must be
demolished so that the nation can reconstruct its economy to suit its own
needs;
• “(4) rights and privileges granted to citizens of foreign countries must have
full reciprocal rights and privileges granted by their country to our citizens;
and
• “(5) there must be the “assertion of ample freedom in the exercise of moral
judgment in international agreements or convent ions.” (Gripaldo)